Opinion | Hong Kong needs to fast-track electric buses, trucks and coaches, not just private cars, to really clean up roadside air

For the first time, a chief executive of Hong Kong was unable to deliver the policy address in the Legislative Council this year. Even so, looking at the policy documents, it is doubtful that the government can deliver on them.

Climate change and Hong Kong’s waste crisis aside, air pollution continues to affect our lives, much like the social unrest. Indeed, the government’s policies, funding schemes and environmental campaigns have all failed to raise the city’s environmental conditions to the levels enjoyed by other developed economies.

Air pollution remains a serious issue, lowering Hong Kong’s international liveability ratings. The government claims that between 2013 and 2018, the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 respirable particulates, and nitrogen dioxide, dropped by around 30 per cent.

But air pollution levels tend to spike whenever a tropical cyclone approaches, and ironically, diluting pollution concentrations depends on proper air flow rather than stronger policies.

As for Hong Kong’s consistently poor air quality, particularly at the roadside, reasons include exhaust emissions, congestion, poor engine maintenance, emissions from ferries and large vessels, and the street canyon effect, which hinders the dispersion of pollution.

With the introduction of government incentives, the number of electric vehicles on our roads is growing, albeit slowly. Inadequate charging facilities across the city have been the main bottleneck. Car owners can afford electric vehicles, even luxury models costing over HK$1 million (US$127,500); their worry is finding a recharging facility.